Will waiving Zhaire Smith haunt the Detroit Pistons?

The Detroit Pistons traded for, and then waived, Zhaire Smith before training camp started. Was it a necessary move for salary cap purposes, or a boneheaded mistake that could  haunt them for years.

Amid all the wheeling and dealing the new Detroit Pistons general manager, Troy Weaver, made in the past week; only one move went from a collective ‘Atta boy’ with the fan base to ‘Huh?’.

First, there was the decision to trade recently acquired center Tony Bradley to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Zhaire Smith (good). On Monday, it was announced the Pistons were going to waive Smith (bad).

Apparently, Detroit needs to cut him for salary cap space.

There seems to be some arcane contract-stretching rule, in which waiving Smith will help Detroit sign its free agents.

However, in pure basketball terms, the move seems boneheaded on the surface.

The Pistons need talent, preferably young talent. So why give the boot to a former No. 16 overall pick in the draft, who is just 21-years-old?

To properly evaluate this, you need to know Smith’s background.

He was a 6-foot-3 power forward at Texas Tech because they lacked height and, with his amazing leaping ability, he could pull it off. The Red Raiders made the Elite 8 so it worked.

He was drafted at No. 16 in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and immediately traded, along with Miami’s 2021 first-rounder, to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Mikal Bridges (a Philly native who was in the middle of a press conference talking about how happy he was to stay home, when the trade occurred).

Smith proceeded to:

• Break his foot right after summer league
• Suffer a severe allergic reaction to sesame oil that left him having to use a feeding tube.
• Get put down to the G-League his second year as the 76ers proclaimed they were shooting for the No. 1 seed and had no time to develop players.
• Suffered a bone bruise and could not make the trip to the Orlando bubble.

If it weren’t for bad luck, Smith wouldn’t have any luck.

He has played in 13 NBA games over the span of two seasons.

Smith’s forte is supposed to be defense. With his quickness and great overall athletic ability, he was projected to be the shutdown defensive wing the Sixers needed so desperately at the time.

The next year, they drafted Matisse Thybulle, who filled that role perfectly.

Smith is still a project on the offensive end. However, in his rookie season, coming off the severe allergic reaction in which he lost 40 points, he did average 6.7 points a game in six games at the end of the season.

This past year, in the G-League, Smith averaged 13.5 points and shot a respectable 37.6% from the three-point line. Is he the next James Harden? No, but remember, he shines mostly on the defensive end. All you are looking for is Smith to be decent on offense.

When the trade was consummated on November 22, it seemed like a winner for Detroit. They got rid of one of the 112 centers they had on the roster at the time. In return, they had Smith, a player who had once shown promise, but due to circumstances, sometimes beyond his control, had never received a real shot with an NBA team.

The Pistons seemed the perfect landing spot for Smith.

But, as soon as the deal was made, reports sprang up that the Pistons intended to waive Smith. It had something to do with his contract.

There was not much difference in the amount Smith ($3.2 million) was making compared to the player he was traded for, Tony Bradley ($3.5 million). And it is not like Smith’s salary was some outrageous sum. According to Spotrac.com, Smith would be the ninth highest paid player on Detroit.

If Detroit needed to trim some salary, one would think 29-year-old reserve guard Rodney McGruder, who makes $5.2 million, would make more sense to waive. Or why bother signing 32-year-old Wayne Ellington to a $2.6 million deal, if you do not want to add payroll.

So, what is the deal? Why is Zhaire Smith being waived? It is not like the Pistons are swamped with young, super-athletic, defensive-oriented wings.

If Smith does turn out to be a bust (not the first time the 76ers have had one of those), Detroit could walk away after this season having lost nothing.

As best can be figured out, because Smith has a rookie fourth-year option for 2021-22 to the tune of $4.9 million (which no one expects to be picked up), his salary can be stretched out over five years. It is just three years of stretching allowed for contracts like McGruder and Bradley, who are on the last year of their deals.

To save a few hundred thousand on the cap seems like a thin reed to base a decision on giving up on a young, former mid-first-round pick without even giving him a chance.

Will Smith eventually develop into a solid NBA player? Who knows? He really has not been given a fair shot yet.

Keeping Smith would have been a gamble, but, in Detroit’s current position, a gamble certainly worth taking.

If Smith does become the player he was expected to be out of college, this move could haunt the Pistons for years.